The lowest point on earth is called Challenger Deep, located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean - nearly 36,000 feet (about 6.8 miles) below sea level.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/2/12

Only 148 people have successfully climbed both Mount Everest and the world's second-highest mountain, K2, as of the end of 2010.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/3/12

The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, or the Bill of Rights, were adopted as a single unit on Dec. 15, 1791. They constitute a collection of mutually reinforcing guarantees of individual rights and of limitations on federal and state governments. The Bill of Rights derives from the Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), the colonial struggle against king and Parliament, and a gradually broadening concept of equality among the American people.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/4/12

The aphid (also called plant louse, greenfly, ant cow) is any of several species of sap-sucking, soft-bodied insects (order Homoptera) about the size of a pinhead, with tubelike projections (cornicles) on the abdomen. It is a serious plant pest. Aphids not only stunt plant growth, produce plant galls, and transmit plant virus diseases but also deform leaves, buds, and flowers.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/5/12

Tickets were still being sold for Super Bowl XLVI on the NFL's website this week for between $2,609 and $15,343.- Provided by CSMonitor.com

2/6/12

A mesa is a flat-topped tableland with one or more steep sides, common in the Colorado Plateau regions of the United States; a butte is similar but smaller. Both are formed by erosion; during denudation, or downcutting and stripping, areas of harder rock in a plateau act as flat protective caps for portions of underlying land situated between such places as stream valleys, where erosion is especially active. This results in a table mountain (mesa) or fortress hill (butte).- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/7/12

Zulu time, often used in US Government communications, is another way of saying Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/8/12

All animals were bigger millions of years ago and evolved into smaller beings with the burgeoning population of man on Earth.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/9/12

Hush puppies are deep-fried cornmeal dumplings that supposedly got their name from the practice of tossing scraps of them to barking dogs to make them stop.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/10/12

The best way to get ample protein with plant food is to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. The protein in an individual plant food is almost always incomplete, meaning it is low in one or more essential amino acids. However, by eating a variety of plant foods such as whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat, barley, rye, buckwheat, millet etc.), legumes (dried beans and peas), nuts, seeds and vegetables, you will be combining foods with different amino acids and getting ample, complete protein. Tofu, texturized vegetable protein, and tempeh are soy bean products that contain a concentrated amount of protein.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/11/12

Under controlled laboratory conditions both cats and dogs sleep about 13 hours per day but they wake up more frequently than people do.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/12/12

Oxygen is the most abundant element in the Earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere -- 49.5% of the total mass of these compounds. Silicon is the second most abundant chemical element on Earth, making up about 87% of the materials in the Earth's crust. Hydrogen makes up about 75% of the mass of the universe. It is estimated that more than 90% of all atoms in the universe are hydrogen atoms. Most of the rest are helium atoms.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/13/12

Sea level is the position of the air-sea interface, to which all terrestrial elevations and submarine depths are referred. The sea level constantly changes at every locality with the changes in tides, atmospheric pressure, and wind conditions. Longer-term changes in sea level are influenced by the Earth's changing climates. Consequently, the level is better defined as mean sea level, the height of the sea surface averaged over all stages of the tide over a long period of time.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/14/12

The per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2010 was 24.7 pounds.- Provided by U.S. Census Bureau

2/15/12

Spoons and knives were made and used in the earliest times and they are found among the artifacts of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, etc. Prehistoric implements used for cutting, hunting, and defense were fashioned from stone, especially flint; from obsidian, a volcanic glass; and from bones and shells. Forks, which originally had a single point, were made with two prongs by the Romans. Matching sets of spoons and forks in standard patterns were common by the mid-18th century. - Provided by Reference.com

2/16/12

The present system of color coding was developed by the railroads during World War I, though the use of these particular colors for the same meanings goes back further. Red, the color of blood, has been a danger signal since early times; even Roman legions used a red banner for Mars, the god of war. The other colors have changed over time. Originally red meant "stop", green "caution" and white "go". The white signal was easily confused with normal light, so it as changed. The railroads decided to drop white and make green "go" and yellow "caution", the latter presumably because it was readily visible and offered the most striking contrast to the other two colors. The first traffic signals (Cleveland 1914) used just red and green. In the early 1920s, in Detroit, they started using the three colors we use today. - Provided by Reference.com

2/17/12

The belief that it is lucky to pick up a horseshoe comes from the idea that it was a protection against witches and evil generally. The legend is that Mars (iron) is the enemy of Saturn (God of the Witches); consequently they were nailed to the house door with two ends uppermost, so that the luck did not "run out." - Provided by Reference.com

2/18/12

A starfish uses its arms to force open shellfish, turns its stomach inside out onto the prey, and ingests it.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/19/12

People are most allergic to nuts, shellfish and seafood, milk, wheat, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cheese, yeast, and soy protein.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/20/12

Mostly only male birds sing and they do so to protect their territory and to attract a mate.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/21/12

The 'third eye' is your pineal gland, a small structure deep inside the brain. It receives information from your eyes and its activity is influenced by the amount of daylight.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/22/12

The first train robbery took place on May 5, 1865, when an Ohio and Mississippi Railroad train en route from St. Louis, MO, to Cincinnati, OH, overturned at North Bend, OH and was robbed by looters. The first train robbery of a train in motion took place on October 6, 1866 on an Ohio and Mississippi Railroad train. - Provided by Reference.com

2/23/12

It takes 3650 peanuts to fill a 5-pound container of peanut butter. Half of all edible peanuts consumed in the US are used to make peanut butter. - Provided by Reference.com

2/24/12

You can only see a rainbow when the Sun is shining behind you and it is raining in front of you. Rainbows form when sunlight shines through millions of raindrops. Sunlight is a mixture of colors. When it passes through a raindrop, it is refracted (bent), and the light splits and spreads out into seven colors. All rainbows are part of a circle, but you can usually see only part of it, because the Earth is in the way. If you are lucky, you may see a complete circle rainbow from an aircraft.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/25/12

Pinky fingers do not have muscles in them. They have bones, arteries, and veins, but no muscles. The muscles that move your pinkies are located in your hands and forearms.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/26/12

The tags on furniture that say 'do not remove' are meant for sellers of furniture. At one time, manufacturers of stuffed furniture could not always be counted on to make the furniture out of proper materials. The tag was to inform the buyer of the exact materials used.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/27/12

Female mosquitoes bite people in order to get blood so they can lay their eggs. The female mosquitoes needs amino acids in blood to make protein for her eggs. Male mosquitoes do not sting people but spend their time drinking nectar from flowers. Mosquito saliva is injected and the enzyme in it prompts an immune reaction that brings mast cells to the wound. The mast cells release histamine, with causes itching and a red rash.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/28/12

Being a professional athlete is the highest-paid profession, especially baseball. Being a surgeon is the best-paying profession requiring college.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012

2/29/12

The Appalachian Trail goes through 14 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.- Provided by The World Almanac 2012